Bebe in LaLa Land: 6

 

Now that twenty one year old John, disguised as fourteen year old Bebe,
has begun going steady with Blaine, he has to examine his feelings more closely,
as well as dealing with the opinions of others..

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Author's Note: As always, I love to read your comments. ~Clara.
 
This version of Bebe in LaLa Land: 6 has been updated with many corrections towards spelling and grammar.~Sephrena.
 
Image Credit: Image created through the use of ai at https://perchance.org/beautiful-people .~Sephrena.

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A MORE PERFECT GIRLFRIEND -or- I WONDER IF THE SNOW LOVES THE TREES AND THE FIELDS THAT IT KISSES THEM SO GENTLY?
 

"Ok, let's hold up for a few minutes, guys," one of the panel of publicity people from the production company, ABC headquarters and The Disney Company stopped the mock interview. "Ed, you have to make your stories more concise. If you make them long, you'll be interrupted by the host. You've heard how Don tells a story, right? Quick, funny, short? That's what you need to do, too."

"Ok, got it." Ed nodded

"And Rose," he continued, "make sure you smile at all times. I know we've put a lot of pressure on you guys, but you have to remember to smile. When you smile, you're gorgeous. Let's be gorgeous at all times, ok?"

"Sure. Sorry." Realizing she wasn't smiling, Rose immediately assumed a more congenial posture and smiled. "I think we're a little over tired and overwhelmed right now, is all."

"I understand," he turned to John, "and Bebe..." John felt a wave of embarrassment wash over him. He knew he wasn't doing well at this. He just didn't know how to open up as himself. As a character, Sure! You couldn't shut him up, then - but as himself, he just kept drawing blanks. "You have to say something other 'yes' and 'no,' honey. This is your introduction to the world. You look petrified and we're still in your home studio. Relax, sweetheart. Just talk. Ok."

"Yes, sir." John hated not achieving, but he felt so awkward doing this. "I'm sorry, sir. I'll do better."

"Of course you will, honey. Just relax. My name is Bill, honey, not 'sir.' We're just having a conversation here. Relax and join the conversation."

They were sitting in three high, director-style chairs. Ed on one side, Rose on the other and John in the middle. Both Ed and Rose gave John's hand a supportive squeeze. "You can do this, baby," Ed whispered. "You're better at this than any of us. Just be Bebe - like she's your character. Just be her and tell her story."

John nodded. "Ok."

"Alright, next question," Bill said.

A woman on the panel read from a card. "Rose, I've heard that you and Bebe are real-life cousins. What's it like to share the stage with your cousin?"

Rose smiled, turned towards John, flipped her hair in a casual way that John envied, and said, "It's just wonderful, Jean. You know, we're second cousins and we only met each other fairly recently, when we played sisters in a production of 'The Taming Of The Shrew.' I was so impressed with her abilities - and she's so young! Anyway, I ended up moving in with Bebe and her mom and, not only did I get to know a great acting-colleague, I got connected to a part of my family that I didn't even know existed."

John smiled. What a great answer!

"And Bebe," the woman asked a follow up, "it must be wonderful for you to share the stage with a woman who is not only beautiful, but a member of your family."

Drawing on Ed's advice, John considered how Bebe would answer. "Oh, it really is wonderful," he said, "and, I don't know if you know it or not, but Uncle Ed has been a friend of the family since I was little. It's like I'm on stage with my own family everyday."

"That's better, Bebe!" the man named Bill shouted. "Keep that up."

The woman continued her questions. "Ed is that true? You're Bebe's uncle?"

Ed chuckled. "Well, not really but I've been involved with Bebe's family for more than a decade, so I have seen her develop into this amazing girl you see here, today. I'm very happy to be called her uncle."

"Excellent," Bill murmured.

"And you and Rose are taking care of Bebe together?"

"Yes," Ed snickered. "She's a good Kid, but any fourteen year old can be a handful!"

There were giggles from several people.

"And are you and Rose romantically involved?"

Ed looked at Rose and smiled. "No, we're not romantically involved at all. That's just on the show. We're more like best friends."

Bill stopped the questions. "Wait! You guys AREN'T involved in real life?"

Both Rose and Ed shook their heads.

"Hmm, it might play better for the press if you said you were." Bill stared at the two of them.

"Well..." Rose was perplexed.

"No." Ed said it flatly. "My personal life is my personal life and that's that. I've seen what you can do to other people and I'm not letting that happen to me or Rosie. We are just good friends and that's what we'll say."

John hung his head, saddened by Ed's words, but understanding exactly what he meant. By 'other people,' he obviously meant John.

Bill leaned back in his chair and waited for more explanations, but none came. Finally, he said, "Your personal life may not be yours much long, Ed. This could be a way to steer clear of speculations."

"Speculate all you want," Ed was calm and forceful, "but I'm not going to pretend that I'm involved with Rose. The ultimate outcome will be that she gets hurt and I won't allow that. End of story."

"Ok," Bill said, "but don't say I didn't warn you."

The questions continued for another hour or more.

As they ate their lunches in Rose's dressing room, John moped through his salad. "What's the matter, honey?" Rose asked. "Are you nervous about the preview of the show tonight?"

John shrugged. "I guess."

Ed sat back and looked at the child sitting opposite him, next to Rose. "No. She's upset about what I said about keeping my personal life private. Aren't you?"

John glanced up, then returned to his salad.

"Look, Bebe," Ed said as patiently as he could, "I meant every word that I said. I know that this was your only way to be on this show and all, but, sweetheart, you're a different person then you were in July and you know it. You agreed to do that and I got sucked into it, but I'm not going to allow myself to be sucked in any further. I'll be your uncle forever, now, but the rest of my personal life is going to remain mine."

"So," John put his fork down and looked up at his friend who now was much bigger, stronger and, apparently, older than he was, "you two can force me to date a boy, against my will, and then refuse to pretend to date each other? Doesn't that seem a bit hypocritical to you?"

"Not at all," Ed shrugged. "As I said, you agreed to your
circumstances. I'm not willing to do the same thing. They can fire me if they want, but I'm going to live my own life. Bebe, just because you were willing to give up everything for your shot doesn't mean that we have to, too."

"Besides," Rose continued eating her salad, "we may have forced you to go steady with this 'Blaine' boy, but I don't believe that we're forcing you to do anything that you don't want to, now. I mean, I saw how excited you were when you showed me the little BB necklace he gave you, Beebs. You're taken with this boy, there's no denying that."

John folded his arms and pouted. "Arrrgggh! You have no idea how frustrating all of this is for me! You guys can make all your own decisions and I just have to do as I'm told."

"Because we're adults," Rose put down her fork and plate of salad.

"I'm an adult, too!"

"No, you're not!" Ed slammed the table. He gathered himself together, quickly, though and resumed his paternal tone. "You are not an adult, Bebe. John was an adult, but he is gone. Just look in the mirror if you don't believe me. You are no closer to being who John Foley was in July than Rose is. In fact, she's probably closer. Bebe, you're a girl, now. A young girl. Rose and I will make your decisions for you for as long as we need to - which appears to be for about another three and a half years, until you're legally eighteen, again. Am I making myself perfectly clear?"

John hugged himself and turned away, but they all turned quickly when they heard a voice say, "She's a young girl, now?"

They turned to see Miss Stephanie standing in the doorway with a text book in her hand.

"I beg your pardon?" Ed asked, very irritated that this woman had imposed on their conversation. He stood.

"You said she's 'a young girl, NOW.' What did you mean by that?"

"He meant that she's not a child anymore, if you must know," Rose stood and put her arm around Ed's waist, effectively creating a wall between Miss Stephanie and John. "How may we help you, Stephanie?"

The teacher huffed. Something wasn't right here. "I just came to drop off this book for Bianca's English class. She needs to read a short story for her work tomorrow. I've marked the page. The story is 'Araby' by James Joyce. There's a series of questions to answer as she proceeds through the story." She handed the book to Rose.

"In the future, Stephanie," Ed said with a certain amount of restraint, "please knock before entering any of our dressing rooms. Thank you."

"Well," the teacher stood taller, "I would have, but I heard someone slamming things around in here and I was afraid for my student's safety."

"Well," Ed's nod acknowledged that he had slammed his hand on the table, "be that as it may, we were in the middle of a family discussion. Thank you for the book. Was there anything else?"

"Yes," Miss Stephanie folded her arms and took on her teacher-pose. "How is it that all three of you ended up on the same show?"

"I beg your pardon?" Rose said indignantly.

"I mean, who got hired first? How did this whole thing end up as a family-affair. It is a bit odd, isn't it?"

"I was hired first," Ed said. "Rose and Bebe were in a production of The Taming Of The Shrew with me and when Don came to see the show, he fell in love with them."

"Uh, huh, and is this the production that was directed by Maureen Weldon. The one that Bianca told me about when she first arrived?"

"Yes. Why?" Ed was getting very defensive.

"Well, because I had a friend named Randy Weiss who worked as an acting coach on that production. Did you know him?"

"Of course," Ed said. "Why?"

"Well, it's just that Randy sent me some pictures of the show and I have to say, the girl that played Bianca did look like your niece, but she also looked substantially older and better endowed than your niece. How is that possible?"

"Seriously?" Rose scoffed. "Bebe wore breast forms and we did her make up in a more grownup manner. Does it surprise you that a theatrical production might do something like that, Stephanie?" Rose refused to use the title 'Miss' when speaking to this pest.

"I guess not, but she sure looked believable."

"That's because my niece is very talented, Miss Stephanie. Now, if you'll excuse us, we need to get ready for tonight's preview. Are you coming?" Ed reached behind the woman and opened the door.

"Oh, I wouldn't miss it for the world, Mr McNeal."

"Excellent, Miss Stephanie. I look forward to seeing you there."

She exited, but looked back at John one last time.

"Alright," Ed sat and calmed himself, "that could have gone very badly, Bebe. You need to knock this off and live up to your obligations or go home and start a new life. Don says that they have the first half of the season in the can, so if you want out, then you need to do it before we start the second half. Maybe they could kill off your character or something, but I am not - I repeat, I AM NOT - going to have the same discussion with you every other day. If you want to be a grownup, then go home. If you want to be on this show, then you're Bebe. You're fourteen. You're a good student and you're dating Blaine. You have ten seconds to make up your mind. Are you John or Bebe?"

John let a tear of two fall. "I'm Bebe. I'm sorry. I'll be good."

"That's my good girl," Ed hugged him. "Let's finish this up, then we can go to wardrobe and you two can have your hair and makeup done for tonight."

Rose looked beautiful in a gold lame dress that hung across her pert breasts in a very inticing way. It fell to just above her knees and shone lusciously with every movement.

Ed wore an Armani, double breasted tuxedo that made him look like the next James Bond.

John wore a white, sleeveless dress that hung loosely to his knees. It had a modest, but low neckline that had a middle eastern style design in a thin band along the edge of the neckline. That pattern turned in a pretty way around the bottom of his breasts and joined a wider, similar pattern that formed a belt-pattern around his high waist. His hair was curled and his makeup was more mature than he'd worn since 'Shrew' had closed. His finger and toe nails were painted a sweet, but bright pink and he wore silver, two inch heels with a series of small straps across them, just before his toes. He felt very elegant and pretty and, standing between Ed and Rose, he felt like a very special girl.

"I didn't know that they made such a big deal over showing a TV show to a group of critics and friends." John said, as Rose fussed with getting his moderately large, silver medallion earrings to hang just right.

"Me neither," Rose chortled, "but it's nice to get all dressed up, isn't it? And to be able to wear clothes this pretty and not have to pay for them... well, you can't beat that!"

"Are we nearly ready?" Ed asked. "Oscar is picking us up. I was told that I shouldn't drive to this. I guess there's a sort of red carpet entrance for the cast and the execs. To tell you the truth, this whole thing has me a little nervous."

"Oh, you'll be great." Rose stood straight from adjusting John's earrings and gave Ed a little peck on the lips."

Ed wiped his lips. "Holy cow, woman, how many layers of lipstick are you wearing? You left half a tube on me!"

She laughed. "As many as it takes to look this pretty."She grabbed her matching clutch and announced, "We're ready."

Ed's phone buzzed right at that moment. "Excellent! Oscar just arrived. Let's go!"

Oscar held the door for Rose and assisted as she got into the car. "You all look lovely, this evening," Oscar beamed at the trio. "A very big night for all of you, indeed!"

As John approached the door to the car, Oscar took his hand and kissed in a very chivalrous manner. "And you, beautiful girl, after tonight, I understand that you will be a star."

John flushed at the intimate greeting and the kiss on the back of his hands sent a shiver down his spine. "I don't know Oscar. Who knows, if things go badly, you might be driving me to the airport tomorrow." He giggled at his own joke.

"I don't think so, señorita. I drive a lot of different people and the one thing they all have in common is what they are saying about you. You will be here a long, long time." Oscar kissed his hand, again, and helped him into the back seat, next to Rose.

He shook Ed's hand and slapped his shoulder. "Enjoy your evening, sir. I'm sure it'll be a great success."

Ed returned his smile. "I hope so, Oscar. Thank you for coming to get us. It means a lot to Bebe to have you with us."

"My pleasure, sir."

"And you got the ticket I left for you, right?"

"I did, Mr McNeil, thank you. I'm really looking forward to seeing you all in the show."

"Great!" Ed climbed into the limo.

When they were moving, Ed asked, "Are these kinds of things always this big a deal, Oscar?" He had his arm around John and his hand was resting on Rose's shoulder.

"No, sir. It's actually kind of unusual, in my experience. I've been working for the studio for quite a while and I've only seen it a couple of times before. I think it's because Mr Ferry has been keeping a low profile for a while and this is a pretty big deal for ABC/Disney."

"Well, I guess we're just lucky enough to be riding Don's coattails," Rose said with a big smile on her face.

"Thank goodness," John agreed.

As they approached the theater that the studio had rented for the preview, Oscar explained, "I'll leave you off here for the red carpet entrance. I'll park and come in with the rest of the hoi-poloi. After the preview, you'll have at least an hour or so with the press and I'll be back out here to pick you up."

The car pulled to a stop. Oscar jumped out and opened the door next to where Rose was seated. She stepped out to a barrage of photographers shooting picture after picture of the young, beautiful ingenue who was making her debut. Rose smiled and moved slightly to the side, allowing Oscar to assist John from the vehicle. The photographers, once again, took dozens of pictures of the child actress. Rose put her arm around her ward and they made room for Ed to step out and experience the same cacophony of shutter noise. Ed waved as casually as he could until a woman with a clipboard appeared and and said, "Please follow me."

Soon, they were behind a wall of curtains where the rest of the cast was waiting. John hugged Kylie and Darren after getting hugged by Don and Marion.

"Oh, my God, this is so exciting!" Kylie was shaking with excitement. It made John smile.

"Are you excited, too, Darren?" John asked.

"Petrified is a better word, I think," he joked.

"Oh," John reached up and hugged the young man, "you'll do great."

The clipboard lady interrupted everyone's conversation, "Ok, folks, here's the plan. There are two stops on the carpet. At the first station, each of you will stop for a photo. This is the 'What are they wearing?' stop and you'll each wait there about thirty seconds before moving on. This is Victor," a dark skinned man with a gold jacket raised his hand and waved, "and he is the official time keeper at the each stop. When he gives you the signal, just move on. Questions? Good."

"Then, we'll regroup behind the mid-way curtains and we'll send out Marion first, and you can do a quick interview on the carpet, then the daughters, Susan and Alex, that's you, Rose and Bebe, then Don and his partner will join you guys for a quick photo op and a couple of questions, then you guys move on and we bring out the neighbor kids to finish up. Questions? Good. I think we're ready, then. Let's start with Marion."

Ever the seasoned veteran, Marion walked out to the mark on the red carpet area. She exuded confidence and she smiled broadly. Her Ralph Lauren pantsuit was mauve and hung beautifully on her well maintained, older, full figure. The number of cameras and the brightness of the lights was very daunting to everyone else, except Don, of course.

"Edward," the woman with the clipboard said. "It's your turn."

"Here goes," Ed said, as he kissed both Rose and John's cheeks. He looked petrified till he stepped out, then he looked as cool as a cucumber. He waved and smiled and stood at the spot until Victor waved him on.

"Rose," the clipboard lady said. "You're up."

Rose started to go, but stopped. She looked overwhelmed, as if she may faint. "Come with me," she whispered to John. I don't think I can do this alone. There's too many people out there."

"Ok," John said.

As they started forward, the clipboard lady tried to stop John from going. "Bebe! Not yet."

John looked at the woman and shrugged. "Change of plans, I guess." Rose was holding his hand tightly and led him to the mark. She smiled and looked calm, but John could feel how clammy her hand was. She was definitely stressed.

They stopped at the mark and looked towards the photographers. "Who are you wearing?" One of the reporters shouted.

The question made no sense at all to John, but rose shouted back, "Stella McCartney."

"And the young lady?" the reported called again.

John shrugged. Rose smiled at his naiveté. "We don't know!" Rose called back, making everyone, including herself, laugh. She felt much more confident after that.

Victor waved them on and the press went crazy when Don Ferry emerged from behind the curtain. John watched him. He was so cool and relaxed, even more so than Marion. His smile showed appreciation for the attention and joy for being able to come back after a decade away from the spotlight.

Victor waved him on, but he stayed a little longer. What could they do to him? He was a bonafide star and he could do what he wanted.

When, at last, he did move on, he was followed by Kylie. She was obviously thrilled to be there, but the press had really come to see Don. Most of them wandered away while she stood on her mark. She maintained her smile, but John could see that she was crushed. Victor waved her on very quickly and when she entered the curtained area where the others were waiting, John hugged her. "Oh, you did so good!" He said.

"Thanks." Kylie smiled, but she was obviously hurt by the experience.

By the time Darrin hit the mark, there were very few members of the press still watching. He seemed almost relieved, though.

"Ok, guys," it was clipboard lady, again. "Victor is going to be near the mark again and you're all going to walk to the mark, take some softball questions from the press, then move on on his cue. Questions?"

"Yes," John asked.

The woman was surprised. No one ever asked a question. "Can we all go out together?"

The woman was flummoxed. "Ummm, no," She stuttered. "Why?"

"Well, we're an ensemble, right? So, shouldn't we go out as an ensemble?"

"I think it's a great idea!" Don said as he stepped out before Victor had even had a chance to get to the mark.

Don waved and smiled. "Ladies and gentlemen," he called out in his commanding voice, "let me introduce my new TV family. First, my mother-in-law!"

The press and assembled crowd were all excited for Marion's appearance.

"How's it feel to be back?" Someone shouted.

"You're not really old enough to be his mother-in-law, are you?" Someone else asked.

Marion managed the questions like the pro that she was.

"My new partner on the LA Police Force!" Don shouted. "Ed, come one out!"

Ed smiled and fielded a few questions before joining Don and Marion.

John grabbed Kylie and Darrin and pushed them to the opening in the curtain. "You're next," he told them.

Don looked to the curtain, expecting to introduce his stage-children, but he saw the faces of the young actors waiting. John stood behind Kylie and pointed to them, indicating that Don should introduce them next.

Don nodded and smiled. "Next, two very talented young actors who play the children of my next door neighbor. Kylie and Darrin! Come on out!"

They received a huge round of applause.

"That was nice,' Rose whispered and kissed John's cheek. "You're a good girl, Bebe."

"And my two daughters on the show! Rosie and Bebe, come on and join us!"

The applause turned to thunder and questions came from everywhere. The questions were about everything and neither Rose nor John could hear them all, but they answered them as well as they could.

"No, we're not sisters. We're cousins."

"It's great to work with family."

"I'm fourteen."

"I'm twenty-one."

"I'm not dating anyone."

"Yes, I have a boyfriend."

Etc.

Don finally came forward and rescued them for the press. "Aren't they great? Let's hear it for my girls!"

The applause came in a huge wave. Don turned to everyone and indicated it was time to go into the theater. They all waved graciously and entered the lobby, where there was a mob of young women waiting. It took John and Kylie a few moments to recognize their classmates, since no one was in uniform. The girls were all smiling and applauding and, of course, staring at Don.

There were a lot more girls than just John's drama class. It was almost the entire school. Ed had arranged it for both John and Kylie so that they would know people in the audience. All the girls were trying to get pictures of Don, so he started organizing things. "Ok, girls, let's get a picture of all of you with the cast. First, let's get the cast up here on the stairs. Then, let's have seniors on this step, juniors the next one down, etc, and so on. Victor, can you take a picture? Kylie, give Victor your phone. You can send the picture to everyone."

As they were about to take the photo, Don said, "Wait! Wait! Wait! Miss Stephanie, jump up here with us! We can't take the picture with out you!"

The teacher had just entered the lobby and was waving to her students when Don called her up with them. She did seem genuinely happy to be a part of the photo and as she worked her way through the throng of teenaged girls, Don whispered to John, "You can catch more flies with honey..."

"I wish I had a fly swatter," John whispered back, making Don laugh out loud.

The picture was taken and Ella yelled out, "Hey, girls! Let's have a round of applause for Mr McNeil who got us all tickets!"

All the girls applauded and shouted thanks to Ed, who smiled in return.

As they headed into the theater, Blaine waved and bounded over to John. The boy was well dressed in a stylish suit and a bright tie."Wow," he said, a bit breathless, "you look amazing!" He hugged John and planted a quick kiss on his lips.

"Thanks, so do you," John smiled.

"This is a really big deal, huh?"

"I guess. I'm kind of... overwhelmed, I guess. There's so much going on for just a TV show."

"It's not JUST a TV, show," Rose said, overhearing the couple's conversation. "This is a show with Don Ferry."

"No," Blaine smiled at John, "I think this is all for you."

Suddenly, a hand tapped Blaine on the shoulder. "Do you suppose I could break in on you and get a hug from my baby sister?" The woman asked.

Blaine turned and looked at the woman who was almost an exact replica of Bebe, just a bit older and not as well turned out.

"NANCY!" John screamed as he threw his arms around her neck. "What are you doing here!?"

"Rose told us this was happening, so we flew out to see it." Nancy kissed her younger sibling's cheek and squeezed him tight. "Oh, I've missed you. Even though I don't live at home, I miss seeing you when I come by."

"Wait! Did you say we?"

"Of course," Nancy laughed. "You don't think that mom would ever miss one of your performances, do you!?"

John released his sister and looked around the lobby. "Where is she?"

"Over by the concession stand. She had to make a call and I saw you with all those girls."

"They're from my school," John said, distractedly. Then, suddenly, he spotted his mother. "Mommy!" he shouted as he ran to her and threw his arms around her, nearly knocking her down in his excitement.

"I'm Blaine," a handsome young man said to Nancy as he accompanied her towards the concession stand. "Your sister and I are going steady."

"Really?" Nancy said with raised eyebrows. "I guess my sister works pretty fast, huh?"

"I beg your pardon?" Blaine had only caught part of what she'd said and didn't understand that.

"Nothing," Nancy laughed.

"Oh, mom, I can't believe you came all this way! And on a weeknight! How long are you here?"

"Oh, baby, you look so thin. What's happened to you?" Marilyn held him at arms' length to assess his wellbeing.

"Oh," John laughed, "diet and hormones, I guess. I'm down to a hundred and eighteen pounds."

"A hundred and eighteen, honey! That's awfully thin! Are you ok?"

"I'm fine, mommy. How long are you staying?"

"We leave in the morning, I'm afraid, baby, but we really wanted to be here for this."

John hugged her hard, again. "Thank you for coming. I really appreciate it."

"We wouldn't have missed it for the world, baby."

"So," Nancy said as she reached them, "this is Bianca's boyfriend, Blaine."

"Oh, Blaine," Marilyn smiled, "I've heard a lot about you, how nice to meet you."

"Johnny," Nancy said with out thinking, "that dress is amazing! Did you pick it out?"

Not phased at all by Nancy's faux pas, John said, "No. Everything was picked out for all of us by the costume department. It is pretty, though, isn't it? I have been lectured to death about not letting it get wrinkled. 'Cotton is a fragile fabric!' I must have heard that a thousand times today."

His mother and sister laughed at his story. They'd been brought up knowing about fabrics, but John was just learning the things they'd learned at age five or six. "It is lovely and really compliments your figure." Nancy was being surprisingly supportive.

"Have you seen what Rose is wearing!?" John asked, enthusiastically. "Oh, my God, she's gorgeous!" He pointed towards Rose and both his mother and sister let out breaths of approval.

Ed called to them all. "It's about to start! We need to get inside."

They all nodded and headed in that direction. Blaine took John's hand and asked, "Johnny? Why did she call you Johnny?"

"What?" John asked, oblivious.

"Your sister called you 'Johnny' back there. Why did she call you that?"

"Well," he said loudly enough so that his mother and sister could hear, "That's an annoying nickname that they saddle me with when I was little. I didn't like dolls or other girly things when I was really little and all my friends were boys, so my mom started calling me 'Johnny' and it stuck."

Both women turned and smiled at the young couple. "I guess we should stop doing that," his mother said. "I think that 'Johnny' is long gone."

They all laughed at that.

"Wow, you've really changed since then, I guess," Blaine laughed.

"Why?" John asked.

"Because you're about the most feminine girl I know." It was said in all sincerity and it was meant to be a compliment, but it made John laugh, anyway.

"Really?" he asked.

"Absolutely!" Blaine confirmed.

Ed had his arm around Rose's shoulders and, when the others joined them, John took Ed's free hand, while he continued to hold Blaine's hand in his other, and said, "Thanks, Uncle Ed and Rose. This is all so amazing!"

"Our pleasure, sweetheart," Ed smiled, happy to have pleased his 'niece.'

"Now, if the show is good," Rose joked, "this will be a great night!"

"Seriously!?" Blaine scoffed. "Everyone's so excited about it! How could it not be great!?"

Ed laughed and muttered, "Episode One: The Phantom Menace."

"What?" Blaine asked, but Rose and Ed were laughing too hard to respond.

John looked at his boyfriend and shrugged. "Grownups. They're so weird!"

The show was, in fact, good. Very good. Very, very, very good!

John let out a little scoff when he saw the title of the first episode was 'One Little Slip.' Since the whole story line about his slip was in this first episode, it seemed a little 'on the nose' to him, but, as it turned out, it dealt with mistakes that Don's character, Ed's character and John's character all made.

The dramatic sections, particularly the slap that had given John a black eye, were powerful and impacted the audience very well. The scenes between John and Rose or John and Kylie were all handled with a light touch and had just the right amount of humor in them.

The scenes with Ed and Don doing police work were exciting and the scene between Don and John in the church parking lot brought the house to tears.

When the two hour presentation ended, the audience leapt to their feet and applauded and applauded and applauded until Don grabbed the entire cast and dragged them onto the stage, in front of the screen.

When the audience quieted, Don took a microphone from a stage hand and said, "Well, I have to say, even I was impressed with that. Just goes to show you that an old fart like me can still be made to look good with a good director and a good ensemble cast!"

That brought more applause and some laughter from the audience. Then he introduced Ed, then Rose, then Marion, then Darrin, then Kylie and each received a huge round of applause.

Then, Don held up his hands to ask for quiet. "Now, I know we've promised to take some questions and we need to talk to the press for a few minutes, too, but I need to acknowledge a member of our cast who has made me a passionate actor, once again. Ladies and Gentlemen, when I first met this actress, she was wowing audiences with her portrayal of of Bianca in a regional production of 'The Taming Of The Shrew,' and it was a great production, too. Both Ed and Rose were in that production, as well. I, essentially, hijacked the bunch of them to come do this show. But this girl... fourteen years old and so ridiculously talented... She improvises with me like an old pro and has, on more than one occasion, made me cry on camera. She is a powerhouse of talent, energy and happiness. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you... Bebe Foley!"

Everyone leapt to their feet again! The applause was so loud that it actually pushed John backwards.

And it didn't stop.

It kept going and going. The girls from Notre Dame started clapping and chanting in time and the others joined in. "Be-be! Be-be! Be-be! Be-be! Be-be!"

On and on it went and John could not keep his emotions in check any longer. He was smiling, broadly, but his face was covered in tears and he needed to hold on to someone. Don, eventually, realized that John was overcome and threw his arm around the his 'on-screen-daughter' to offer support. Soon, though, John was being held by the star and he was balling tears of joy.

Once he'd composed himself, John stepped back and waved and bowed in the theatrical way that he'd been taught to do the previous summer.

Don handed him the microphone and John said, in a loud clear voice, "Thank you all, so very much!" Then handed it back to Don.

Several chairs were brought onto the stage and they all sat in a semicircle. Each actor was handed a microphone and a line of guests with questions was formed on the floor with Victor ushering the next questioner forward.

Most of the questions were either asking Don about his career or were, really, just comments about the quality of the show they'd just watched.

One woman asked Ed if he was available, which made him laugh, but he did say that he was open to a relationship.

Rose was told several times that she was beautiful.

One of the senior class girls from Notre Dame made it to the mic and asked, "Bebe, did I hear that you're going steady with a boy from St Mark's?"

The entire student body of Notre Dame applauded, but John just melted into his chair.

Kylie and Rose, though, weren't going to let this go by without a response.

"She is!" Kylie answered for her costar. "And he's gorgeous."

Rose stood and shielded her eyes then spoke into her microphone, "Blaine!? Blaine, where are you? Stand up and take a bow."

Blaine was also melting into his seat, but Marilyn and Nancy stood and raised the boy to his feet. "Here he is!" They shouted and the audience applauded.

"Wait a minute!" Don stood and walked to the edge of the stage, "that woman looks just like you, Bebe. Who is that?"

John finally spoke into his microphone, "The one with brown hair is my mom, Marilyn, and the one that looks like me is my big sister, Nancy."

"Wow!" Don led a round of applause for John's family. "You and your sister are like twins who are separated by... well, how many years is there between you too?"

"Twelve," John said.

"Twelve years!? Wow, Mrs Foley, I guess that Nancy must have been a handful, huh?"

Marilyn and Nancy laughed.

"What's your boyfriend's name, Bebe?" Don asked.

"Blaine."

"Well, Blaine, you know exactly what your girlfriend is going to look like in twelve years, I guess!"

That got some laughs.

"You've got two beautiful girls there, Mrs Foley! Congratulations!"

More applause.

Another question. "I heard that both of your daughters on the show are actually sisters. Is that so?"

"No," Rose fielded it. "We're cousins, but very close."

"How did you end up on the same show?"

"Well," Rose said, "they were actually interested in Bebe, first, but Alex was supposed to be a boy," Rose related the rest of the story.

"And do you take care of her while you're on the west coast?"

"Oh, yes, we both do. Ed and I."

"But he's not related, is he?"

"Uncle Ed?" Rose teased. "No, but he's been a friend of Bebe's family for a long time."

Finally, the questions ended, but they still had to speak to the press. As the crowds started exiting, John ran down and thanked his school mates for coming. All of them seemed thrilled to have been there. There were a few teachers, too. Of course, Miss Stephanie was there, but she offered no comments. No sign of Miss Gabriella, though. He kissed Ella and MK, both of whom raved about the show, then ran to where his mother and sister were waiting with Blaine.

"I gotta go, Bebe," Blaine apologized as he wrapped his arms around John's small waist and held him close, "but you totally rocked that show!" Without warning, he planted a long hard kiss on John before letting go. "Man! I am so proud of you!" He ran off, leaving John shocked, flushed and breathless.

"Well, he seems to like you," Nancy teased.

John smiled and shrugged, a bit embarrassed.

"He seems like a good boy, baby," Marilyn said. "He doesn't know, does he?"

"No," John was very embarrassed now. How could she say something like that where people could hear her? Did his mom and sister approve of this? He couldn't tell.

"You're going to have to tell him at some point, Johnny." She shook her head at her son.

"We'll see. Did you like the show?"

"We loved it, honey," Nancy opened her arms and gave him a hug. "You were SO GOOD! And I can't believe that you're so friendly with Don Ferry!"

"Oh, he's really nice. Want to meet him?"

"Oh, no," Marilyn said. "You're too busy. Another time. We need to go, baby. We'll see you tomorrow before we leave."

She hugged her son. "You feel so small, Johnny. You feel, and even smell, like a girl. It really is amazing. And I really do love that dress on you. Oh, I miss you baby." She hugged him, again.

"I miss you, too, mommy, but you have to call me Bebe all the time, ok? We can't have any slip ups."

He hugged both women, then, just as he was headed back to the stage, he heard a woman say, "Aren't you going to introduce me to your family, Bianca?"

Suddenly, the plastic smile of John's theater teacher was present.

"Oh... I'm sorry... I didn't know you were here," John stuttered. "Umm..., mom, Nancy... this is Miss Stephanie. She's my theater teacher at Notre Dame."

"And her tutor on set, sometimes," Miss Stephanie purred. "So nice to meet you."

"Bebe, we need you on stage," Don called through the sound system.

'Damnit,' John thought. Then he said, "Mommy, I have to go. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye-bye, baby. I'll see you for lunch, tomorrow. Rose has a reservation somewhere."

"Ok." He kissed her and his sister, then ran back to the stage.

"May I buy you ladies a drink?" Miss Stephanie asked as she ushered her new acquaintances towards the exit.

By the time they were done with the press conference, it was well past midnight. Everyone was tired, but John couldn't even keep his eyes open. Ed held him close as they headed to the waiting limo and Oscar.

"Oh, my goodness," Oscar smiled, "too big a night for the little one, huh?" He smiled his caring smile and helped Rose into the car.

"Ok, honey, in you go," Ed whispered to John.

"Here, let me help you," Oscar took John's hand and guided him into the limo where he collapsed on the seat.

"I'll ride up front with you, Oscar, if that's ok," Ed said.

"Sure, sure," Oscar said as he closed the back door.

"Well," Oscar said as they drove along, "it's close to two o'clock, now and you're scheduled to be in the studio for a remote interview at five. Do you want to go home, or just nap in the limo and I'll wake you."

"What do you think?" Ed called over the seat.

Rose shrugged. "I suppose that going home is a waste, but I can't let Beebs sleep in that dress. She'll look terrible in the morning."

"There's some tee shirts in the compartment back there," Oscar said. "Maybe one will work as a night gown for her."

Rose reached over and raised the privacy screen.

"Did you like the show, Oscar?" Ed asked.

"I really did, sir. I enjoyed everything about the evening. Thank you."

"Good," Ed said.

"Your niece, sir," Oscar shook his head. "Wow."

"Yeah. I know." Ed chuckled. She's something, isn't she?"

"You did very well on the morning shows," Marilyn said as she cut into a piece of beautifully grilled salmon. "You all looked like old pros."

John smiled. "Thanks, mom."

"That's another pretty dress, Johnny," Nancy smiled, but immediately put her hand to her mouth. "Oops, Sorry. Bebe."

"You guys really need to get a handle on that," Ed said. "It's always got to be Bebe."

Marilyn nodded. "It's hard, though. Twenty years of Johnny, you know."

Ed became very serious and leaned forward. "Nancy, Mrs Foley, that has to be the last mention of that name. We have worked very, very hard to create this new life for Bebe. Please don't mess that up."

"Of course, Edward," Marilyn smiled. "My goodness, this salmon is delicious."

"Back to your dress... little sister, where did you get it?" Nancy was admiring the cotton dress that John had worn to lunch with Blaine a few days earlier. "It's really precious."

"Thanks," John smiled. "Rose bought it for me. I love this dress. Look! It even has pockets." John smiled. "I miss pockets."

Marilyn looked at Nancy and smiled. "That's a pretty little pendent you're wearing. Did Rose buy that, too?"

"That," Rose smiled, "was a 'going steady' gift from Bebe's boyfriend. Isn't it cute? See. It's a BB. Blaine is a surprisingly romantic boy." Rise fondled the necklace and smiled supportively at John.

Marilyn stopped and put down her fork. "Ok. I didn't want to bring this up, but I can't go home without saying something about this 'boyfriend' situation."

John looked up from his salad and put down his own fork, crossed his legs at the knees. Folded his hands in his laps and said, "What about it?"

Marilyn thought about her next words before she spoke. "Now, you know that I'm very open minded, baby, but, well, even when you began living as Bebe, well, I never suspected that you were gay. That is, until now. I mean, I saw how you behaved with Blaine and, well... are you gay?"

"I am," came back the answer, but not from John. The response came from Ed, who was sitting in a relaxed position, his arm around Rose.

Everyone, except Rose, shot a shocked glance at Ed. "Edward?" Marilyn asked. "When did his happen?"

Ed smiled. "It didn't 'happen,' Mrs Foley. "I've always been confused about things, but when Bianca appeared this summer, well, I guess that made me face my sexuality, because I was very, very attracted to her - knowing that she was John."

John put his hand on Ed's. "Ed... I... I didn't know..."

Ed smiled at the beautiful child. "Don't worry, Bebe. Bianca just opened a door for me. From there... things just became more obvious to me."

There was silence until Rose leaned her head towards Ed and used it to give him a hug. She looked up at him and said, "Feel better?"

Ed smiled at her and nodded.

"And the world didn't end." She hugged him again. "We love you, Ed. No one cares about your sexually. We just want you to be happy."

"Of course we do," Nancy said sympathetically.

"Thank you for sharing with us, Ed." Marilyn smiled.

Eventually, all eyes turned back towards John. "What?" He asked with an incredulous look. "You all just told Ed that it didn't matter, but you're all still curious about my sexuality? Isn't that just a little hypocritical?"

"Joh... Bebe," Nancy said, "we're not trying to be nosy, we just want to be sure that you're ok, honey. You've been through a lot, and, well... to be perfectly honest, it was pretty shocking to mom and me when we saw that boy latch on to you the way he did. He's obviously in love with you, honey, and, well, that has us a bit concerned."

"Concerned? Or jealous?" John snapped back, obviously uncomfortable with this conversation.

"John," Marilyn reacted with defensive press and surprise. "That's not very nice. Nancy and I just want the best for you..."

"Oh, for crying out loud, would you, please call me Bebe!" John's voice was an aggregated, hoarse whisper. "And I don't want to talk about Blaine!"

"Well, why on earth not?" Nancy persisted.

"Because..." John searched for the words. "... because I like him... and... that confuses me... and..., well... it's none of your business!"

"Beebs," Rose interrupted, "That's no way to talk to your mother, or any other adult."

John was immediately cowed.

"Now, apologize," she added.

He was silent for a moment, until Ed added, in a firm voice, "Now, Bebe."

John looked at his mother and sister, all anger gone. He just looked disappointed in himself to have upset Rose and Ed. "Sorry, mom. Sorry, Nancy."

Marilyn and Nancy stared, astonished, at the apparent adolescent sitting across from them.

Smiling like a conscientious mother who'd just displayed how well she could discipline her child, Rose said, "Marilyn and Nancy, we understand your concern, but think of things this way..." She went on to explain her concept of how John, with aspects of both sexes, would always be in a relationship that could be construed as both gay and straight, simultaneously.

"So," she continued, "it only makes sense that, as a high school girl, Bebe has experiences with a high school boy. She'd be drawing more attention to herself if she didn't, and she knows that she needs to keep things innocent. I really don't think that you have anything to worry about."

Marilyn snickered at that. "Obviously, you've never been a parent, Rose. Parents worry about everything."

"That's where you're wrong, Mrs Foley," Ed said. "Rosie and I are, for all intents and purposes, parents and we worry about Bebe every single minute of every single day. Granted, she's your daughter, but Rosie and I are the ones who are fighting with her to do her homework. Running to the school when something goes wrong. Making sure that she's eating well and getting her from 'point A' to 'point B' three, four, or five times a day. We understand exactly why you're worried about your twenty year old son, because we feel the same way about our fourteen year old ward."

Marilyn looked at child, who's head was still hung low. He appeared to have shed a few tears, too. This wasn't her son, anymore. She needed to accept that, fully and without question. She no longer had a son. Just two daughters; Nancy and Bebe.

"Listen, ED," Nancy over pronounced his name to give evidence to her fury without raising her voice above an angry whisper, "this weird game that you three are playing..."

But Marilyn interrupted, "No, Nancy. They're right."

Nancy followed her mother's gaze to the child who sat, recovering from the reprimands of her guardians and, after a few breaths to squelch her emotions, she had the same epiphany as her mother. John was no more.

"Oh, my goodness, child, your hands! What are you doing with your hands!?" John's first dance lesson was going well, but the forty-ish teacher whose name was Chloe, kept harping on how John used his hands. "A dancer's hands must be strong when needed, or elegant, or flirtatious, but you, child, my goodness, your hands are just balls of stress! You look like a boy, about to get into a fight. Please, relax those fingers and concentrate on making them elegant extensions of your long, feminine arm."

"Yes, Miss Chloe. I'm sorry, Miss, it's just that this is all new to me." Dressed in the traditional, black dancer's leotard, with flesh toned tights and tan colored, split sole, jazz shoes, John felt exposed and clumsy next to the statuesque, elegant dance tutor.

"I know that, dear, she said, without a lot of patience in her voice, "but still... Didn't your mother ever instill any lady-like hand gestures in you?"

"I guess not, Miss. Sorry."

The woman's countenance softened just a bit. "I do apologize, Bianca. I am used to working with more advanced students." A soft smile appeared on the teacher's face, but it didn't look very welcome there. John knew that dance teachers had a reputation for being pretty hardcore, but this one definitely scared him a bit. Not in the way that Miss Stephanie scared him, he didn't sense any malevolence, she just seemed perpetually disappointed and John REALLY didn't like disappointing people.

"I'll learn quickly, Miss Chloe, I promise." John grabbed a small towel to wipe his brow. He'd been doing flexibility exercises or dancing for nearly three hours now.

"Well," Miss Chloe touched John's face with surprising softness, "I guess I've worked you hard enough for today. We can call it a day. I expect to see you back here on Wednesday at 1:30, unless the shooting schedule changes.

"Yes, Miss."

As if she'd been 'on-duty' before and was required to maintain a stern artifice, Miss Chloe's face softened and she took John's chin in her hand. "You're a beautiful child, Bianca. You'll enjoy dancing and you'll look lovely when you dance. Keep up the work you did today and we'll be fine."

The door to the dance studio opened and Miss Stephanie entered with a pile of folders being held in the crook of her elbow. "Well, what have we here? The newly crowned queen of teen actresses is taking on dancing!? Oh, I think this is a perfect Phys Ed credit for you, Bianca. Hi, Chloe. Nice to see you."

Chloe leaned forward and air-kissed Miss Stephanie's cheek. "You, too, Stephanie. What brings you to the studio, today?"

"I just need to drop off these time sheets for you. We need Bianca's Phys Ed hours submitted every week. Bianca, you can go. I need to talk to Miss Chloe."

"Yes, Miss," John said, as he pulled on a little, black, dancer's skirt and started to go, but Miss Chloe called to him.

"Actually, Bianca, I need to go through our schedule before you leave, so, please leave your bag here and just go take a break in the hall. I'll only be a few minutes."

John waited in the hall for a few minutes, trying to hear the conversation in the dance studio, but all he could make out were some muffled conversation - no real words.

Finally, the door opened and Miss Stephanie stepped into the hallway. "Well," she smirked, "you had quite a big night last night, didn't you?"

"Yes, Miss Stephanie," John replied, eyes flickering from the woman's face to anywhere else as he spoke. "I hope you enjoyed yourself."

"Oh, I did, actually, Bianca. I enjoyed the show much more than I expected. It's amazing how much the editors and music can add to a show, isn't it?"

"Yes, I guess, Miss."

"Also, I had a lovely and revealing chat with your mother and sister. Did they mention it?"

"No, Miss, they didn't." John was suddenly very worried. What had they said. They'd insisted on calling him John a hundred times in the few hours they'd all spent together. Had they slipped up and told her stories about him being a boy? "How was it 'revealing,' Miss?" He couldn't help but ask.

"Well, for instance, you told me that you took 'A' class at Emerson. Your mom told me that you'd been taking classes there for three years and your sister mentioned that you'd even done a semester of dual enrollment there last year."

Why hadn't they told him these things!? Emerson didn't even have dual enrollment for high school students! Nancy had done that her junior and senior years at Worcester State University, but it would just take one phone call or a glance at his transcripts to find out that this was a lie. "Umm," John stuttered to find a response, "It wasn't a true dual enrollment, Miss. I took some classes at my school and some classes on line, then I'd go to Boston and take classes in the evening."

"Oh," Miss Stephanie seemed a tad deflated. "Well... that is somewhat different than what I understood, but, still it is an impressive resume for a fourteen year old."

"Thank you, Miss."

"Your performance in the show..."

"Yes, Miss?"

"It was... impressive, but... well... I'd like to give you some notes."

"I would appreciate that, Miss," John nodded. He really would rather discuss acting with her than anything else.

"Alright..." Miss Stephanie nodded. "We'll do that."

"Bianca," Miss Chloe appeared in the doorway, "please come in. I need to go through this with you before you leave."

"Yes, Miss." John moved past the two women and reentered the studio.

"It was nice seeing you," Chloe said in a very stiff manner, to Miss Stephanie. "I'm sure that we'll see you around, now that we're both working with Bianca."

"Yes, I'm sure we will," Miss Stephanie walked away.

"Come with me, Bianca." The dance teacher hurried to a desk on the other side of the studio. She was obviously upset about something.

"Miss?" John asked, "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine, Bianca, thank you."

She sat and pulled out a piece of paper and started scanning it, but then, suddenly, she was crying. Loudly, sobbing-ly crying. It threw John and made him very concerned.

"Miss? Miss? Are you ok?" He didn't know what he should do. He barely knew this woman and she kind of scared him. Touching her didn't seem right.

A moment later, though, she waved him off and took deep breaths to get herself under control. "I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm sorry." She sat back and breathed deeply, wiping her eyes. "I'm sorry, Bianca."

"No need to apologize, Miss. Are you ok."

"I am," she nodded and breathed herself under control. "May I ask you a question, Bianca?"

John nodded.

"Are you close with Stephanie?"

John looked towards the door where Miss Stephanie had been. She was gone. "No ma'am. Not at all. In fact... well... not at all."

"Good," the teacher said. "I'd recommend that you keep it that way."

"We've got a big treat for you, today," Ellen DeGeneres said from her comfortable chair, one leg folded under the upper thigh of her other. "It's been quite a while since we've been joined by Don Ferry," the audience erupted into applause. When the ovation subsided, she continued, "Well, he's got a new show premiering on a rival network, ABC, tonight and he's here, today, along with some of the primary members of the cast, to talk about how the show came about, what he's been doing for the last few years, etc. So, let's kick things off with the man, himself, Don Ferry!"

Don entered the space between the stage-right side of the stage and the small interview-set that Ellen used and, as the club music thumped, he began the required dancing that all of her guests performed. The audience stood and applauded and Don's dancing got broader and more ridiculous. Ellen joined him and they both made wonderful fools of themselves to the delight of the audience.

When, at last, he was seated, his smile was warm and inviting and he answered Ellen's questions effortlessly. He was so charming! He exuded confidence while simultaneously transmitting a sense of humbleness. John watched from the wings in amazement. He didn't think he'd ever be that comfortable at an interview. There were too many things to hide about his life. He needed to be more cautious than everyone else.

The plan was to keep Don on stage alone for 30 to 40 minutes before, Marion, Ed, Rose and, finally, John would join them on stage. Don was talking about his theater work until, just about ten minutes into the interview, when they went to commercial.

While Don took a drink of water, on stage, while John and the others sat in the green room.

"Oh, what a lovely dress." Marion came up behind John and fussed with the dress that wardrobe had given him. It was a modern version of a shirt-dress, like those that 'Alex' wore on the show. This one was sleeveless and ended mid-thigh and was a very pleasant shade of yellow. "Every girl needs a pretty, yellow dress," she kissed the back of John's head. Just relax, baby. Everything will be fine."

John turned and hugged the older woman. "Thanks, Nana."

"What did he just say?" Ed asked. He and Rose were watching the monitor. Don and Ellen were still chatting during the commercial break. Their mics were muted in the studio, but they could still be heard in the green room.

"I think he said that he wants to bring us out, now!" Rose hustled to the mirror to check herself, once more.

Marion said to john, "Turn around, dear," and she straightened out the large, yellow bow that held some of his hair into a high ponytail at the rear of his head. "Remember, you're not being yourself; you're being Bebe Foley, the actress. She's a character unto herself, so just be that character and you'll be fine."

"Ok," John breathed a deep breath and smiled. "I think I'm ready."

"That's my girl." Marion's smile was warm and reassuring.

Just as the show on the monitor was coming back from the commercial break, a woman with a headset hurried into the room and said, in a very harried voice, "Change of plans, everyone. You're all going out together, NOW! I need you in the on-deck area, immediately! Please, hurry!"

Ed stood and said, in his deep, confident voice, "Are we ready, ladies?"

"We're always ready, Edward," Marion said with a relaxed quality, while taking John's hand.

"One sec," Rose finished applying a little lip gloss before stepping back and straightening out her simple, sage-green, sheath dress, which looked breathtaking on her. Once she approved of herself, she said, "Ready," and ran to take Ed's hand and they all walked to the offstage area to wait to be called out.

They didn't wait long. As they arrived, they heard Don saying, "...but this is an ensemble show and I have been blest with one of the best ensembles I've ever worked with and I'd really like them to come out and talk about the show so you can all get to know them."

"Sounds good!" Ellen stood and called out, "Lets have a big round of applause for the cast of 'Civil Disobedience!' Come on out, everyone!"

Marion took the lead, followed by Ed, who held Rose's hand in one of his and John's in the other. When it came time for them all to dance, John was handed off to Marion, who took him in her arms and mock swing -danced with him, allowing him to twirl his skirts and look involved without looking like an idiot. He was grateful.

Just as they were all about to take their seats, from the audience came a shout from several people, " BEBE! BEBE!"

John turned and a smile spread across his face when he saw Ella and MK shouting and waving from the front row, with Blaine sitting right beside them, embarrassed. John waved, grateful for the friendly faces.

"Friends of yours?" Ellen asked, amused.

John nodded. "We go to school together."

"Oh, where's that?" Ellen continued as she looked at the group. The camera also captured the cheering section.

"Notre Dame Academy for Young Women."

"Really!?" Ellen looked closer. "It seems that one of those people is not a young woman, but a very handsome young guy. Does he go to your school, too?"

"That's her boyfriend, I believe," Don chuckled.

"Really?" Ellen stood, hustled to the first row, grabbing a wireless microphone along the way. "Stand up, stand up," she said, and the girls did.

"What are your names?" She asked.

"I'm Mary Kate."

"I'm Ella."

"And you go to school with..." not having spoken to John, yet, Ellen drew a blank on his name.

"Bebe," Ella offered. "Yes, we are friends from school.

"And this fellow, here?" She pointed to Blaine. "Where do you go to school?"

Blaine remained seated, and looked even more embarrassed. "I go to St Marks."

"And are you dating, Bebe?" She offered her hand and pulled the boy to his feet. When he didn't respond to her question, she asked again. "Well, are you?"

"Yes," he grinned. "We're dating."

"How long?"

Blaine looked embarrassed. "Just a few days."

"Really!?" Ellen pretended to be shocked. "Just a minute." Ellen ran back to the interview area and grabbed John's hand, pulling him across to the front row of the audience. John had to bounce on the balls of his feet to keep up with Ellen's sneakered jog.

"So, Bebe," she asked, as she reached Blaine, again, "is it true that you and this young man are involved?"

MK and Ella were laughing hysterically at John and Blaine's discomfort. Laughing with embarrassment, John nodded, "Yes, we are.... Well, dating."

"And what are your prospects, young man?" Ellen had taken on the role of a parent. She pushed the mic into Blaine's face.

He laughed. "I have none."

"Oh, well, I don't know if I can allow this, then... What do you think, girls?" Ellen pushed the mic back at John' s friends.

"Oh, you should," MK said.

"He gave her that necklace when he asked her to go steady! Isn't that romantic?" Ella giggled.

Ellen inspected the piece of jewelry. "Oooooh, that's sweet."

"Ask him what it is!" Ella persisted.

"What is it?" Ellen asked Blaine, who shook his head and smiled apologetically at John.

"It's..." he mumbled.

"What is it?" Ellen pushed.

"It's... a BB," he finally said causing the audience to break into shouts of 'Aww' and applause.

'So much for keeping MY personal life to myself,' John thought as Ellen pushed him into Blaine's arms. "Let's take a selfie of this, girls, jump in here, too." Ellen produced a cell phone and took a photo of her and the four young people, a photo which was immediately posted to her website.

Finally, Ellen grabbed John's hand and, once again, dragged him across the studio with him bouncing on the balls of his feet. "That was fun," Ellen announced as Ed put his arm around Bebe. "Now, about this show of yours..."
 
 
To Be Continued...